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Fourth-year goaltender Brett Willows made 37 saves as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves 4-3 on Friday, January 23 at Varsity Arena.

With the win, Toronto's first over Lakehead since 2001, the Blues improve to 9-11-1 and jump into a tie for seventh, just one point out of fifth in the West division.

Second-year defenceman Corey Jackson opened the scoring just 3:43 into the game as his point shot found its way through traffic to beat Thunderwolves veteran Jeff Bosch.  

U of T netminder Brett Willows kept the T-Wolves off the board with a great save off a Lakehead breakaway midway through the first.

Toronto extended their lead in the final minute of the opening frame when Tyler Liukkonen picked off a Lakehead pass in front of the net and found Jeff Brown wide open off the far post. U of T led 2-0 after the first period.

The Blues had a great chance to pad their lead on the powerplay midway through the second period. Toronto peppered Bosch with shots and Patrick Marsh hit the cross bar, but it was Lakehead who struck next as Jay Gilbert's point shot floated through traffic to find the back of the net.

The Blues held a narrow 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame.  

Third-year forward Patrick Marsh notched his fifth goal of the season 6:24 into the third period, taking a pass from Russell Turner and finishing it off with a backhand into the net. However, Lakehead responded as Cody Alcock wired a shot from the half boards into the top corner of the net to bring it back within one.

Kelin Ainsworth would even the game at 3-3 with a powerplay marker with 6:30 remaining, but Toronto's Christian Finch regained the U of T lead with a nice five-hole goal on a breakaway just 15 seconds later.

The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow night as they take on the York Lions at Varsity Arena. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on OUA.tv. 

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